About
Welcome, and thanks for visiting. I am an adjunct writing instructor for Syracuse University. Since 2005 I have taught remedial writing, freshman composition, critical research, and professional writing courses for a variety of populations, including traditional students and also part-time, low-income, refugee, and first-generation college students. After spending almost twelve years with the Department of Writing and Rhetoric at SU, I now teach professional writing within SU’s Bachelor of Professional Studies program. This program is housed at University College, SU’s school for part-time and inter-session coursework, home to the Arthur O. Eve Higher Education Opportunity Program and dynamic summer programs for college-bound high-school students. I teach various online courses in digital and business writing for the BPS program. I am also a faculty visitor for SU’s Project Advance program, where I assist high-school educators across New York State (and other states) who are implementing SU courses in their classrooms.
My course content often focuses on cultural studies; students have studied the L.A. riots, Hurricane Katrina, hate crimes, the rhetoric of gender, globalization, wellness, and millennial college life. Right now I’m researching ethics and anti-discriminatory praxis within professional communication.
For many years I was a Writing Consultant at the SU Writing Center and a consultant for the Renee Crown Honors Program, where I worked with students on their senior Capstone projects and internationally competitive scholarship and graduate school applications. Previous to my work in higher education, I taught middle and high school English in New York and Nevada.
I’m an artist, gardener, writer, yogi, cook, and music lover, but I identify first as a mother of three young children who fill my days with love and chaos. My husband, Dr. Jason Luther, teaches writing at Rowan University. I’m currently developing a small business offering art, yoga, and healing practices for children in Collingswood, NJ, where I reside.
CURRICULUM VITAE
EDUCATION
Master of Arts in English with Highest Distinction & Graduate Certificate in Women’s and Gender Studies, Syracuse University, May 2007
Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education, English, summa cum laude, State University of New York College at Fredonia, May 2000
ACADEMIC TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Faculty, Syracuse University Bachelor of Professional Studies Program, 2017-present
Syracuse University Project Advance Faculty Visitor, 4 semesters, 2013-present
Professional Writing Instructor, Syracuse University Writing Program, 2008-2017
Consultant, Syracuse University Writing Center and Honors Program, 7 semesters, 2008-2017
TA-Training Consultant, Syracuse University Writing Program, Spring 2011
Tutor, Syracuse University Stevenson Educational Center, Fall 2010
Teaching Assistant, Syracuse University Writing Program, 2005-2007
Graduate Assistant, SUNY Fredonia English Department, 2002-2003
COURSES TAUGHT
Digital and Business Communication for Professional Studies (1 section, enrollment 10)
Practical skills for creating effective digital business communications.
Practices of Academic Writing (14 sections, enrollment 20)
Study and practice of writing processes, including critical reading, collaboration, revision, editing, and the use of technologies. Focuses on the aims, strategies, and conventions of academic prose, especially analysis and argumentation.
Professional Writing (6 sections, enrollment 20)
Professional communication through the study of audience, purpose, and ethics. Rhetorical problem-solving principles applied to diverse professional writing tasks and situations.
Professional Writing (Online version) (1 section, enrollment 18)
Critical Research and Writing (19 sections, enrollment 20)
Study and practice of critical, research-based writing, including research methods, presentation genres, source evaluation, audience analysis, and library/online research.
Critical Research and Writing (Online version) (4 sections, enrollment 20)
Introduction to College-Level Writing (7 sections, enrollment 5-20)
Introduction to college-level reading and writing practices: learning to compose for college audiences, to read challenging texts actively, to make interpretations and claims, and to collaborate with others.
Summer Reading & Writing (3 sections, enrollment 5-10)
For basic writers or writers with special needs. Preparation for college writing classes: using the writing process, learning the relationship between effective reading and writing, review of grammar and mechanics.
Arthur O. Eve Higher Education Opportunity Program (10 sections, enrollment 2-10)
Taught versions of the above courses for nontraditional, part-time students.
RELATED TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Upper School Faculty, Manlius Pebble Hill School, 2007—2008
Instructor, English, Damonte Ranch High School, Reno, NV, 2004—2005
Instructor, English, Rainshadow Charter High School, Reno, NV, 2003—2004
Instructor, Research and Writing, Upward Bound Summer Program, SUNY Fredonia, Summer 2003
High School Instructor, English, Bemus Point Central School District, Bemus Point, NY 2000—2002
Peer Tutor, The Learning Center, SUNY Fredonia, 1997—1998
PRESENTATIONS & CONFERENCES
“The Public Syllabus: Migrating Your Course to a WordPress Blog” SUNY Council on Writing Annual Conference, Syracuse, NY, September 2014
“From the ‘Hood to the Hill in Ten Minutes: How Do We Develop a Rhetoric That Will Get Us Through?” Rhetoric Society of America Conference, San Antonio, TX, May 2014
Summer Institute for Technology-Enhanced Teaching and Learning, Participant, Syracuse University, May 2013
“Powerful Means: Breaking Through Communication Barriers to Enable Effective Work in the Writing Classroom” Syracuse University Writing Program Professional Development Workshop, Fall 2010
“Classroom Management: Special Needs, Circumstances, Challenges” Syracuse University Writing Program Professional Development Workshop, Spring 2010
“Listening to Our Scapegoats: Queering Beliefs about Sex Work and American Society.” Trans-Rhetorics Conference, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, March 2009
“Anti-Discriminatory Praxis: Teaching Alexa Albert’s Brothel.” Re-visioning Prostitution Policy: Creating Space for Sex Worker Rights and Challenging Criminalization Conference, Desiree Alliance, Las Vegas, NV, July 2006
SERVICE
Writing Program Interview Committee, Syracuse University Writing Program, Summer 2013
Academic Advisor, Syracuse University, Fall 2010-Present
Lower Division Curriculum Committee, Syracuse University Writing Program, 2008-2009
PUBLICATIONS
“Fashion in the Mid-Atlantic Region.” The Greenwood Encyclopedia of American Regional Cultures. Ed. Robert Marzec. Vol 1. Westport: Greenwood Press, 2004. 133-161.
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
National Council of Teachers of English, Member, 1999-2007